FIFA Ballon d'Or

This article is about the men's award. For the women's award, see FIFA World Player of the Year. For the former European Footballer of the Year award, see Ballon d'Or (1956–2009).

The FIFA Ballon d'Or (French pronunciation: ​[balɔ̃ dɔʁ], "Golden Ball") is an association football award given annually to the male player who is considered to have performed the best in the previous year. It is awarded based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams, as well as journalists from around the world.
The award started in 2010 after France Football's Ballon d'Or and the men's FIFA World Player of the Year award were merged. The winner of the inaugural 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or was Lionel Messi who then went on to reclaim the title the following two years. After the merger, the FIFA World Player of the Year award became a women-only award.

 Until 2010, the best player in the world won the Ballon d'Or or the FIFA World Player of the
2010 : Lionel Messi
2011 : Lionel Messi
2012 : Lionel Messi
2013 : Cristiano Ronaldo